Solitary v40
by XX-Samantha-XX
Summary: Sheppard and McKay are cut off from each other and their comfort zones...
1. John Sheppard meet Val

_Ok people this is a story idea based on the reality tv show Solitary (if you're not sure what it is you can look on wikipedia), there are other authors working on this within fanfiction as well. They have there own characters, these are my characters reactions to what is happening. I hope you like it._

_**Intro**_

_Hello, my name is Val. Welcome to a unique social experiment designed to push nine humans to their absolute physical, mental, and emotional breaking points. Locked in isolation pods and cut off from all human contact, they are not competing against each other but against themselves. In the end, only one will remain. He, or she, will leave solitary with fifty thousand dollars. My role is to observe what makes humans strong and what makes them weak: to push, to prod, and to discover who will crack next. _

_Welcome to Solitary __v__4.0._

**Chapter 1- John Sheppard meet Val **

"Hello, my name is Val. The Pod you are in is designed to isolate you from the outside world. While there are nine of you participating in this experiment, you each are responsible for your own destiny. You are entirely alone. Except, that is, for me. In Solitary, I am your only companion. In Solitary, I am your only friend. Let us begin." Val was silent for a moment then asked

"What is your name?"

Sheppard thought for a moment at how seemingly normal this question was and then answered.

"Lt. Col. John Sheppard"

"I'm sorry, that is incorrect. As you can see, you are in a pod with a number. That number is now your name. Let's try this again. What is your name?"

Ah he thought wryly_, I knew there would be a catch_. He decided he would test the waters a little and stated defiantly.

"Lt. Col. John Sheppard"

"That is incorrect, do not test my patience. You do not want to alienate your only companion. Remember you are in complete isolation." The computer screen flashed red, as if in anger. Val spoke again as if nothing had happened. "What is your name?"

"Oooookay then" Sheppard mumbled, thinking that this was one wacky computer. He looked around this 'pod' that he was now in and saw a big pink number then, replied with a hint of cheek.

"I am Number Seven"

"That is correct. Tell me, what do you think of your new home?"

Sheppard scanned the octagonal room he was in; it was small, almost like a prison cell. However, he knew this wasn't a prison, even though he was all alone, like in solitary confinement. He shook that thought off and replied to the crazy computer's question.

"Well it's cozy" he said with a hint of sarcasm. He fell silent when that got no response from the computer. If McKay were here, he would have had something to say about being in such a small room. He laughed a little under his breath at the image.

"Is there something funny Number Seven?"

"No Val" Sheppard replied with a mock salute.

"You will not be so happy soon. Now, I will continue" She paused again. Sheppard was getting a little creeped out by the computer's threats_. As if a computer could do anything_. _Great John, now you're talking to yourself __**and**__ a computer._

"While you are here, I will control everything. To do anything in Solitary, you must push the green button and ask my permission. You must remain in your pod at all times unless otherwise instructed. Each pod is equipped with a low hatch leading to an Anti-Pod and lavatory. If you do not like my rules, you may quit Solitary at any time by pressing the red button. In fact, the only way to leave Solitary is to push the red button. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Val, Crystal" he said thinking this was like being back in boot camp, listening to everything he was told, this would get old fast, he wasn't one for following orders. His face must have shown some of what he was thinking as Val asked another question.

"Is there a problem Number Seven? You are part of the military aren't you? You should have no problem following my rules. You may quit anytime you like" Sheppard laughed at this last bit, he doesn't quit so easily. Again defiant he replied

"No Val, there is no problem"

"You are very confident in yourself Number Seven, I will see to it that you do _not_ leave that way" Sheppard just stared at the screen, a little shocked at such a direct threat. Before he could ay anything else Val started speaking again.

"Although you will not be competing against anyone other than yourself, perhaps you would like to hear about the other guests." _So I'm not completely alone_ he thought then listened to Val continuing with what she was saying.

"Number One is a self proclaimed poet who has violent tendencies. Number Two is an astrophysicist working with the military. Number Three is blood splatter analyst at the Miami Police Department. Number Four is a manicurist at the Gorgeous Pretty Beauty Nail Salon. Number Five is a 25 year old rock musician from England. Number Six is a traveler and part time doctor. Number Seven is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force. Number Eight works for a car company and is the co-founder of a club. Number Nine is a junior detective at the Santa Barbara police department."

Again Sheppard laughed a little, number three sounded very much like McKay. He wondered a little at how McKay would react to this situation. He'd probably panic he thought, then try to find a way out without quitting.

"Please stand-by and wait for your first test."

"Ok, I'm ready" he stated with an air of confidence.

He moved towards the anti-pod door, climbed in and waited for the so called test to start.

When he had been allowed back into the main pod room he again scanned the small room to find that there was a large goldfish tank containing a lot of fish. Next to the large fish tank was a smaller bowl. He thought this odd and waited for further instructions.

"Good afternoon, _morning_, **evening**. As you can tell, this first test in Solitary is a little… _fishy_. In the tank next to you, there are exactly 100 goldfish. There are "gold" fish, orange and white fish, black and gold fish, gray fish, and calico fish. You must tell me how many of each type of fish there are. To make things a little easier, I've given you a small two gallon bowl. You may use that bowl to help you, if you wish. The first person to press the green button with the correct numbers will be exempt from the first treatment. So get ready… set … go fish."

_Hmm a math puzzle_, he had a knack for these puzzles. McKay had complained about it when he had told him about Mensa. He looked towards the large tank trying to count the fish. With them swimming across each other it would be tricky to count correctly. He now looked towards the smaller bowl trying to calculate the dimension of it, to see how many would fit inside. He noticed that two of the sets of fish were two-toned so he decided that if he removed them into the smaller bowl; it would be easier to count the others as they were the same colour. First he moved the black and gold fish into the small bowl, there were 24. Then he moved the white and orange, there were 17. That means that there were 41 fish counted so far. When he turned back to the large tank he could see clearly that there was an odd one out, this must be the calico one. Next he counted the typical 'gold' ones, there were 32. That means that there must be 26 grey ones. He smiled smugly to himself at how he had devised a way to count different coloured fish.

"Do you have an answer Number Seven?"

"Yes, there is one calico, 17 white and orange, 24 gold and black, 26 grey and 32 gold."

"Are you sure Number Seven?"

"Yes I am"

"You are correct Number Seven. However, you were not the first to get the correct answer. You _will_ be participating in the treatment" Sheppard didn't like the foreboding in that statement. He wasn't looking forward to what this 'treatment' was…

TBC


	2. Rodney McKay meet Val

**Chapter 2-Rodney McKay meet Val**

"Hello, my name is Val. The Pod you are in is designed to isolate you from the outside world. While there are nine of you participating in this experiment, you each are responsible for your own destiny. You are entirely alone. Except, that is, for me. In Solitary, I am your only companion. In Solitary, I am your only friend. Let us begin." Val was silent for a moment then asked

"What is your name?"

"Dr. Rodney McKay" he replied with an air of confidence. He was used to working on his own in one of his labs, so obviously this would be a breeze.

"I'm sorry, that is incorrect. As you can see, you are in a pod with a number. That number is now your name. Let's try this again. What is your name?"

Oh great, I'm being stripped of my name _and_ title he complained quietly to himself. He looked around at the very small room and found a rather large orange number then stated.

"I am Number Two"

"That is correct. Tell me, what do you think of your new home?"

"It's just peachy, thanks for asking" he replied sarcastically, silently hoping that he could escape from this small room, with out having to quit the game. He had to win of course. Val must have noticed the sarcasm in his voice she responded to his answer.

"Sarcasm is not appreciated Number Two, you _will_ stop this" McKay had the grace to looked shocked, _how the hell could a computer detect that_, _now that is creepy he thought_.

"While you are here, I will control everything. To do anything in Solitary, you must push the green button and ask my permission. You must remain in your pod at all times unless otherwise instructed. Each pod is equipped with a low hatch leading to an Anti-Pod and lavatory. If you do not like my rules, you may quit Solitary at any time by pressing the red button. In fact, the only way to leave Solitary is to push the red button. Do I make myself clear?"

"Just one question, when can I get coffee?" _well there was no harm in asking_.

"You are isolated Number Two, there will be nothing other than what you are given. Now, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Perfectly" he responded with annoyance for being kept away from what he liked. He chuckled slightly under his breath, at the defiance Sheppard would have clearly shown by now, he wouldn't like being under this much control.

"Although you will not be competing against anyone other than yourself, perhaps you would like to hear about the other guests." Val paused, as if taking a breath. This creeped McKay out more, computers didn't take breaths, not even an AI.

"Number One is a self proclaimed poet who has violent tendencies. Number Two is an astrophysicist working with the military. Number Three is blood splatter analyst at the Miami Police Department. Number Four is a manicurist at the Gorgeous Pretty Beauty Nail Salon. Number Five is a 25 year old rock musician from England. Number Six is a traveler and part time doctor. Number Seven is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force. Number Eight works for a car company and is the co-founder of a club. Number Nine is a junior detective at the Santa Barbara police department."

McKay almost wanted to correct the computer, saying he was a _Doctor_ of Astrophysics. However, he thought better of it. After listening to who he was 'up against' he was sure that he was going to win whatever these tests and treatments were, he was the

"Please stand-by and wait for your first test."

"Wait…what erm… what is the test exactly" he asked Val panicking a little, not knowing what was coming.

"Do not worry Number Two, it is a simple test" she said faking a reassuring tone.

"Ok then" McKay stuttered. As McKay moved towards the Anti-Pod he noticed just how much smaller this was than the room he was in, and froze rooted to the spot with fear. Val seeing this hesitation spoke almost mockingly.

"Is there a problem Number Two? You may quit at any time you wish, all you have to do is press the button"

"What!...erm…no I'm not going to quit its just..oh fine" McKay rambled while slowly crawling into the Ant-Pod.

When Rodney was allowed out of the claustrophobic Anti-Pod, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling less restricted but, not less controlled. While solitary its self wasn't that bad, the total lack of control was. He looked around the room, he had changed from the last time he saw it. Now, in the middle of the room there was a large fish tank and a smaller one. He was thinking oh what's this now.

"Good afternoon, _morning_, **evening**. As you can tell, this first test in Solitary is a little… _fishy_. In the tank next to you, there are exactly 100 goldfish. There are "gold" fish, orange and white fish, black and gold fish, gray fish, and calico fish. You must tell me how many of each type of fish there are. To make things a little easier, I've given you a small two gallon bowl. You may use that bowl to help you, if you wish. The first person to press the green button with the correct numbers will be exempt from the first treatment. So get ready… set … go fish."

The large tank loomed in front of him, taunting his problem solving skills. He was good a math but puzzles, the last puzzle Sheppard had solved. He was not touching the fish; they could have all sorts of germs on them. He started looking out for the obvious ones. The first thing he spotted was a lone calico one. Then he moved on to the gold ones, there were 30…no 31. The next he counted was the grey ones; there were 26 that he could see. Now, came the tricky bit. There were about 24 black and gold fish which meant one type left so obviously there were 18 of them. McKay very confidently pressed the green button to answer the puzzle.

"There are 31 gold fish, 26 grey fish, 24 black and gold fish, 18 white and orange fish and one calico" he was very smug with himself. He had counted moving fish after all, that wasn't an easy thing to do.

"You seem very confident with your answer Number Two, are you sure?"

"Yes, I am"

"Actually Number Two… you are wrong, count again"

"What! I am not wrong"

"You are Number Two. Now, count again"

"Fine, then I will prove to you that I'm right" McKay turned back to the tank and started counting again, when he noticed his mistake, he felt slightly embarrassed because he had been so sure he was right. Though, he had been sure in the past and look at where that had gotten him then. He pushed the button again and spoke more humbly.

"There are 32 gold fish, 26 grey fish, 24 black and gold fish, 17 orange and white fish and 1 calico fish" hoping he was right this time, and still able to win he smiled a little.

"That is correct Number Two…However you were not the first to give me the correct answer. You will be participating in the treatment." Val stated with a slightly amused tone. McKay didn't like the way Val almost seemed human, it was scary. He also felt a sense of foreboding about the up coming treatment.

TBC

Please read and review let me know what you think about the characters reactions. The treatment is next though, i'm not sure what it is yet. :)


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